A Year in Review: 2010

As has been the tradition in my family since.....well, I can't remember ever NOT doing this.  The highlights of the year. I did a year in review post last year, and this year will be no different.

The beginning of the year was spent with Eric's recovery.  It was very hard to watch him struggle with so many basic things in life - most of all, sleep.  When your ribcage is simply held together by wire, it makes sleeping incredibly difficult.  He couldn't find many comfortable positions, so we ended up getting a recliner so he could prop himself up and somewhat relax.

It wasn't really until March that we ventured out for something other than doctor appointments.  Eventually, he was given a clean bill of health and life seemed normal again.  We resumed our regular visits to the zoo, along with Carter's swimming at the gym.

Spring also brought the big boy bed for Carter.  He never had use for his toddler bed, so we put that away and introduced him to his BIG bed.  He loved it from the moment he laid eyes on it!

The beginning of the year also brought on the chaos that was my photography business this year.  I had countless shoots, which included weddings, families, engagements, babies, etc.  The business provided an excellent supplement to the household income, which hugely helped when Eric was slow at work.  I'm very thankful that I have been able to drive such a successful business.  I look forward to another highly successful year!

The hubby and I were able to sneak off to a much-needed mini vacation to Jackpot in May.  I know there are people out there who frown upon vacations where you don't include your children, but our opinion is that trips by yourself are just as important.  Keeping the spark alive and exploring the adventurous side is extremely important in marriage (in our opinion).  Plus, we still had planned several vacations WITH Carter throughout the duration of the year.  So, for those who seem to think we are cruel and selfish parents for not including our child on this one little trip, mind your own. ;)

June brought the wedding of Miss Ashley, Eric's sister.  It was a gorgeous event and we couldn't be happier for the two lovebirds!!

We had many fishing trips.

We explored several fairs - big and small, taking in the sights, sounds, and most importantly, the FOOD!

Carter also got to attend his very first circus! 

We took several camping trips - both with just the three of us, and with some good friends.  All camping trips were an adventure, as they should be.  We also spent quite a bit of time at the cabin.

We also moved the swimming lessons for Carter to the country club pool once it got warm enough.  Nothing like a hot summer day in the cool pool, on the river, or up at Lucky Peak, which we also explored this year. 

Carter got his first big boy bike - he still has some reservations about the this, but we plan to dive right back into it when spring hits!

August brought some great news of the newest addition to our family.  We are thrilled.  Our families are thrilled.  And I'm ready to shop for a baby girl!

September brought our big trip to Tahoe - what a fun time we had!!!  I wasn't sure how Carter would do with such a long car drive each way, but we had such a great time with him.  I can't wait for our next big adventure!

Towards the end of October and beginning of November, Eric was finally able to say goodbye to the construction industry and enter a new career field.  Telling his former construction company to stick it where the sun don't shine was a huge weight lifted off of our shoulders and I am THRILLED that he's on to something bigger and better.

The holidays were a success this year and as December closes, I have a happy heart.  We lost some great people this year, but I'm glad that those closest to me are still around and kickin'.  I'd love to give the typical speech about how next year is going to be so fun and we'll have a thousand adventures - but I already KNOW we will do all that.  There are four months left until this baby arrives and we have so much to do to prepare.  I can't wait to see what this little creation is going to be, WHO she's going to be, who we will be with her.......

So, in closing, I really couldn't have asked for a better year (though winning the Idaho Lottery the other day would have definitely HELPED, lol!) and as usual, I just can't wait to see what next year has in store for us. 

I wish you all peace, happiness, health, and prosperity in 2011!

Pregnancy Tracker - 23 weeks

Well here we are at 23 weeks.  No big changes from last week, though the movements are becoming more pronounced.  We had one incident where Carter was laying his head on my belly and took a kick to the face.  Didn't hurt either of us, but we all sure got a big laugh out of it!  And he was talking to the baby last night and said "this is your big brother, come play baseball" then paused, and said "she's not talking to me" and walked off.  Apparently he was expecting a response from his little sister!  Too funny!

Here is what babycenter.com says about the pregnancy at 23 weeks:

Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), you may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb.

You may notice that your ankles and feet start to swell a bit in the coming weeks or months, especially at the end of the day or during the heat of summer. Sluggish circulation in your legs (oh yes) — coupled with changes in your blood chemistry that may cause some water retention — may result in swelling, also known as edema. Your body will get rid of the extra fluid after you have your baby, which is why you'll pee frequently and sweat a lot for a few days after delivery. In the meantime, lie on your left side or put your feet up when you can, stretch out your legs when you sit, and avoid sitting — or standing — in one place for long periods. Also, try to exercise regularly to increase circulation, and wear support stockings (put them on first thing in the morning) and roomy, comfortable shoes. You may be tempted to skimp on liquids to combat swelling, but you need to drink plenty of water because staying hydrated actually helps prevent fluid retention. While a certain amount of edema in your lower extremities is normal during pregnancy, excessive swelling may be a sign of a serious condition called preeclampsia. Be sure to call your midwife or doctor if you have severe or sudden swelling of your feet or ankles, more than slight swelling of your hands, swelling in your face, or puffiness around your eyes.

I had Eric snag a quick picture of me this last weekend, though it's not the best.  Here we are at 22 1/2 weeks.  (forgive the quality)

Marry Me - Train

I didn't think it was possible to fall in love with a song, but dang, this is about as good as it gets. Completely simple, yet so powerful.  Turn off the music player at the bottom of my page and then come back and listen to this song.  (on a side note, I just looked at the guitar tabs for it and I'm going to ask Eric to learn this song and play it for me......I love being married to a musician!)

A Few Highlights

I didn't really have my camera out a whole lot this Christmas - didn't really feel like jumping all over the place, snapping pictures.  So I only have a few good shots from this year to share with you.

Me and my brother, Dana:

 While my mom was gone to pick up my Grandma, we put my brother's girlfriend to work taking some pictures.  My dad, me, Dana, and Carter proudly displaying one of his 12 cookies from the night!

 Me and my bro with my Grandma.

 So my dad got my mom a super secret gift this year.  He didn't tell anyone in the family about it, and when he gave her the gift, he told her it wasn't anywhere on her Christmas list, but was definitely on her Bucket List - skydiving.  My mom has wanted to skydive for as long as I can remember.  And now, she will be going this spring or summer!  I captured her face (per my dad's request) right as she opened the gift.  Priceless!!

 Carter was a big helper - always there to help you with your present-opening. ;)

Christmas morning, he was thrilled beyond measure that Santa brought him the dinosaurs he reqested!  Santa also left him a nice little letter, which is now on display in his bedroom. 

We had Eric's family over for gifts and Christmas dinner on Christmas Day.  I'm STILL full.  There was a done of delicious food, many laughs, and gifts galore.  I sure wish Santa had brought me some little elves to put all this stuff away!!

We got some really cute baby girl clothes, and let me tell you, that kicked me into high gear to want to shop for this little girl!!

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas as well......next up, New Year's Eve!!

Merry Christmas to All!!

From my family to yours, wishing you the very best Christmas and New Year!!

Pregnancy Tracker - 22 weeks

Well let's see - what has changed since last week?  Oh!!  The baby is a GIRL!!  I'm slowly getting Eric to consider some names, which we are going to keep secret until the moment she is born.  :)  Sorry, just how it is!  My heartburn has kicked it into high gear this last week, which is incredibly miserable. I feel like my container of Tums has become a permanent attachment to my body. Not amusing.  She moves around all the time.  The kicks are starting to get stronger, though they are still in the "fun" stage.  I know in a few months, those kicks will be nothing I'm gushing about.

Here's what babycenter.com says about the baby at 22 weeks:

At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) (seriously? they wouldn't have picked something else to compare measurements?) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. HER lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and SHE'S even developing tiny tooth buds beneath HER gums. HER eyes have formed, but HER irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers HER body and the deep wrinkles on HER skin, which she'll sport until she adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside HER belly, HER pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.

I seriously can't wait to start shopping for this baby girl! I'm so excited! I'm hoping all the after-Christmas sales includes baby stuff.

That One Day

Have you ever thought your spouse was going to die?

No, seriously. THINK about that.

Have you ever seriously thought that your spouse was potentially minutes away from being gone? Forever.  Let me tell you something - you don't WANT to know that feeling.  It's something I know will happen when the time comes (hopefully a long, LONG time from now), but until then, I don't ever want to experience those feelings again.

One year ago at 9:35 a.m. (trust me, I remember that), I received a call that lasted 2 minutes.  Two minutes that seemed to go by with lightning speed, and yet, seemed to last an eternity, all at the same time.  In those two minutes, my life changed. I ultimately told Eric to get off the phone and focus on getting medical treatment - they were in the middle of the mountains, LUCKY to even get cell service, and he had this in his heart:

3 1/2 inch galvonized (so it won't rust) spiral shank nail - through three chambers of his heart.  Shot from a nail gun at point blank range.  Actually, it was even closer than point blank because the gun bounced off of Eric's chest, which is what released the safety mechanism.

My first call after that was to my mom.  Minutes later, to my best friend.  Minutes after that, I walked back into my office and broke down in my office manager's office.  My co-workers were beyond amazing that day - calling hospitals, helping me find phone numbers of people I needed to call, and all-around keeping me sane. 

Ultimately, the wait while he was life-flighted back to Boise and then again while he spent hours in surgery was not the most fun I've ever had.  But when all is said and done, I basically turned his life over to the two amazing surgeons and let them take it from there. 

He literally had to have heart surgery - which required cutting him open, sawing through his chest plate and ribcage, and pulling the nail from his heart.  And from there, one little stitch in the heart sealed the hole.  One stitch.  Amazing, huh?  Though the outside took quite a beating:

You can see the incision (obviously), the nail hole to the right of the incision, and the two holes from the chest tubes below the incision.  It was a brutal recovery for Eric, I can tell you that just from being the helper.

This picture was taken a while after he was home from the hospital....maybe a few weeks to a month.

And this one was taken last night.

Overall, the surgeons and second-opinion doctors said there was no impairment rating, which still floors me.  They said it could take up to a year to fully heal - and for the most part, they were right.  His chest over the incision is still sensitive - like, you wouldn't want to walk up to him and punch him in the chest.  I'm not sure it would knock him to his knees, but it would seriously hurt him.  There are times when he and Carter are wrestling, and Carter actually hits his head against Eric's chest - there is substantial pain.  I don't know how long it will take for those bones to fully fuse back together (his ribcage was simply wired shut), or for the sensitivity to go away.  Or if it ever will.  I'm just thankful he's alive.  We've had some major ups and down this year, but I wouldn't trade him for anything.

"Good relationships don't just happen. They need time, patience, and two people who truly believe they are meant to be together."

Behold, the Tree

So after our ultrasound Friday, I was suddenly in the holiday spirit again. I had almost sworn off a tree this year, but we stopped at one last lot and found a beauty.  So I added the lights and then waited a couple days for the branches to settle before adding the decorations.  Here are some shots of our tree this year.

 (He was in NO mood for pictures....this is as good as it gets)

A Playdate.....with Santa?

Earlier in the week, I got an e-mail from Monkey Bizness that Santa would be making an appearance at Family Night this week.  With the chaotic nature of our schedules this summer/fall/winter, we haven't been to Monkey Bizness in quite a while.  My poor, deprived child.  So I couldn't pass up the {FREE} chance to see Santa - no way was this mama paying $20 at the mall for someone else's attempt at a picture.  So we paid the $5 fee for family night and played until our feet hurt.  My brother and his girlfriend joined us, and we had a great time!

Carter had to show his Uncle Dana the BIG slide.

And the BIG slide didn't disappoint.  That sucker will put your heart up in your throat in 1.2 seconds!  But Carter really loves it.

 No, really!  Let me zoom in on that shot for you:

 He may look scared, but he's ready to climb back up to the top the second he hits the bottom of the slide.

After we played for a bit, we got in line to go visit Santa.  There were lots of kids, so Carter made his way up and down the line, comparing Santa requests for toys.  Turns out, several of the other boys were also dinosaur freaks.  Carter made instant friends.  When it came time for our turn with Santa, it took some talking into just to get Carter up on Santa's lap.  But once he was up there, he chatted Santa's ear off, and the dog's!

It really was a great night - I'm glad he didn't go running off scared of Santa!

Start Buying PINK!

We had the big ultrasound today.  First and foremost, everything looked great.  Heart, kidneys, brain, etc. all got the a-okay from my doc.  So that's a big sigh of relief.  The tech didn't exactly give us a ton of pictures - in fact, we got TWO, so I really don't have any great pictures so share today. :(  I was hoping for some great profile shots like we had with Carter.  No such luck.  The tech was new to the office and wasn't familiar with the machine.  But we certainly didn't see any BOY parts, so she's going with us having a girl.  I couldn't be more excited!!! 

Time to start shopping!!!

Pregnancy Tracker - 21 weeks

This week marks 21 weeks.  No big changes from last week.....other than the big ultrasound tomorrow!!!!

Here is what babycenter.com says about 21 weeks:

Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. You may soon feel like she's practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to her activity as you get to know her better. In other developments, your baby's eyebrows and lids are present now, and if you're having a girl, her vagina has begun to form as well.

Brandon & Amanda {Engagement}

Brandon and Amanda hired me to do their engagement photos and their wedding next summer.  They wanted winter/snow pictures for the engagement, so we went out into the snow last weekend.  Here are some samples from their shoot.

Dan, Becky & Little Avery {Family}

I did a winter shoot last weekend with this adorable family. Avery was really good with the camera, but we really weren't able to get any solo shots of her - she didn't want to be an inch away from mom or dad. So we made due with what we had.  Here are some samples from their shoot!

Pregnancy Tracker - 20 weeks/5 months

So today marks 20 weeks/5 months....which means I'm half-way there. I do have to say, the second half isn't as "fun" as the first half. This marks the beginning of restless nights where you can't get comfortable due to the increasing size of your belly, the baby gets heavier daily, which means added pressure on your bladder....and also smaller space for your stomach, which can increase heartburn. Big meals are out of the question as the space for your stomach decreases. Smaller, more frequent meals comes into play. Lots of snacking. Oh, and did I mention waddle, waddle, waddle? Oh fun! ;) It's all part of the process, however, and I do embrace it all.  Well, ALMOST all.  I do not embrace unwanted belly touching. My belly is not a science exhibit to be groped and cooed at.  ;)

Here's what babycenter.com says about the pregnancy at 20 weeks/5 months:

Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. She's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against her torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of her head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, she's measured from head to toe.)

She's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for her digestive system. She's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in her bowels, and you'll see it in her first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).

Also, I know I promised the big news of the sex of the baby with this update, but we weren't able to have the ultrasound this week.  My OB hired a new ultrasound tech and she doesn't start until next Friday. So the 17th is now our big day. Carter will be coming with us so he can get his first live glimpse at his new sibling. So, next week will have the big news!!

All Lit Up

One thing I love about this time of year is the Christmas lights.  I LOVE driving around and checking out all of the lights people have up.  I look forward to it all year!  Eric had a rare day off today, so I put him in charge of the lights.  They are up on the house, one of the trees in the front yard, and around the front door and window.  I love it!  I was so excited to turn into my subdivision this evening after work!

 I also picked up a custom creation from my mother-in-law today. She makes the best stuff - all from scratch. I was also excited to get home to hang this beauty up!

Christmas is fast-approaching - are you ready?

Bowling!

Last time we played bowling on the Wii, we decided it was time to introduce Carter to the real thing.  I have taken him a few times to watch my dad and uncles for their bowling league, and Carter has really shown some interest.  So we ventured out today, for the real deal.  And let me tell you - it wasn't any too soon because the smallest size of shoes they have is the exact size he currently wears. Talk about luck!  So we all got our fancy bowling shoes on and started up the game!

I should also say, they had special balls for kids. Carter ended up with a 6-pound ball, which seemed to work just fine for him.  He placed his fingers in the correct holes - though he still had to cradle the ball with both hands when it came time to throw/push it down the lane.

And sometimes he wanted help - others, he wanted to go solo.  Either way, with the bumpers up for him, he did just fine.  In fact, he was beating me most of the game!

We had such a good time - we even spent a little bit of time in the arcade playing air hockey after we were down bowling.  This will definitely be something we do more often - especially in the winter since outside play is somewhat limited, at times.